CPD for Psychologists in Australia: How Psychodynamic Training Meets Your Requirements
Every registered psychologist in Australia needs to complete 30 hours of CPD each year. Most complete those hours. Fewer find that the CPD they're doing is actually changing how they practise.
That gap — between CPD as a compliance activity and CPD as genuine professional development — is what Deep Mind Psychodynamic Training was built to close.
This page covers what Australian psychologists need to know about CPD requirements, how structured training in psychodynamic and relational approaches counts toward those requirements, and why the psychologists who come through Deep Mind programs tend to describe them as the most clinically useful professional development they've done.
What the CPD Requirements Actually Are
The Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) requires all registered psychologists to complete a minimum of 30 CPD hours per registration year. Of those 30 hours, at least 10 must be peer consultation — structured activities focused on your own practice, such as supervision or case discussion groups.
The remaining 20 hours are general CPD: structured or unstructured learning activities that contribute directly to your competence to practise. The PsyBA takes a broad view of what counts here. Online courses, workshops, seminars, and structured training programs all qualify — provided they contribute to your professional development goals as a psychologist.
If you're an APS member, the requirements are the same: 30 hours annually, including at least 10 hours of peer consultation. The learning plan requirement is worth noting: the PsyBA expects you to develop a written learning plan based on self-assessment, identifying your CPD goals for the year. CPD that maps onto a genuine skill gap or area of intended development — rather than simply accumulating hours — is exactly what the standard is designed to encourage.
What Counts, and What Happens If You Fall Short
The requirements themselves are published clearly enough. The questions that actually cause difficulty are the ones about your specific situation, and those are harder to find answers to, because most of what surfaces online is written for other professions with different rules.
Does supervision count as CPD hours?
Yes. Under the Psychology Board standard, peer consultation means supervision or consultation, individual or group, focused on your own practice. Those hours count toward the 10 hour peer consultation minimum rather than the 20 hour general component.
One detail catches people out. In a group, only the portion of time spent on your own practice counts as peer consultation. If four of you meet for an hour and share the time evenly, you log 15 minutes of peer consultation. The time spent on other people's cases can still count toward your general CPD hours, so nothing is wasted, but it sits in a different column.
What counts towards CPD hours?
The 20 general hours are broad. Structured online courses, workshops, seminars, conferences and formal training programs all count, as do reading and self directed study. The test is not the format. It is whether the activity contributes to your competence to practise and connects to the goals in your learning plan.
What counts as non-verifiable CPD?
The Psychology Board does not use the verifiable and non-verifiable split that some other professions apply. Its distinction is between peer consultation and other CPD activity. If you have seen that terminology, it is likely from another board's standard. What the Board does expect is documentation for everything you claim.
What if I have no evidence of my CPD?
The Board expects a CPD portfolio: a written learning plan, records of what you completed, and reflection on it. In an audit, hours you cannot evidence are effectively hours you did not do, because there is no way to verify them. The practical fix is unglamorous. Download certificates the day you finish something, and keep one running log with the date, the hours, the category, and a line on what changed in your practice as a result. That last line is what turns a list into a portfolio.
Can I complete all my CPD hours at once?
The requirement is 30 hours within the registration year, which runs 1 December to 30 November. Nothing stops you concentrating them, and a structured multi week program is a legitimate way to cover a large share in one go. Two limits apply. At least 10 of the 30 hours must be peer consultation, so a course alone will not complete your obligation. And hours completed after 30 November count toward the next year, not the one you are closing, even if you are still inside the renewal period.
What happens if I do not meet my CPD requirements?
You declare your CPD compliance when you renew your registration. If you cannot declare it, the Board can require you to make up the shortfall within a set timeframe and can place conditions on your registration. Audits are random, so the requirement is real whether or not you expect to be selected.
In practice the common failure is not deliberate. It is arriving at the end of November short on peer consultation hours specifically, or holding enough hours but without the documentation to evidence them.
Free CPD for Psychologists
If you want to test whether this kind of training is worth your hours before committing any budget, the Deep Mind webinar is free and carries 1 APS CPD hour. It is a live, practical introduction to psychodynamic principles and Socratic questioning, and it is claimable as general CPD in the same way any other structured activity is.
It is a reasonable first step if you are unsure. One hour, no cost, and you will know quickly whether the approach fits how you want to work.
How Deep Mind Programs Count Toward Your CPD
Deep Mind programs are APS CPD approved. The 4-week Transformation Method carries 11 APS CPD hours, the 8-week Mastery Journey carries 20 APS CPD hours, and the free webinar carries 1 APS CPD hour. Programs are delivered by a registered clinical psychologist with 34 years of experience. You do not need to be a member of the APS or AAPI to enrol or to claim these CPD hours. The training is open to any registered psychologist in Australia.
What they are is structured learning that meets the definition of general CPD under the PsyBA standard. Psychologists who complete Deep Mind programs can log those hours as general CPD, provided the training is relevant to their professional development goals — which, for any psychologist working with complex presentations or seeking to develop relational and psychodynamic skills, it clearly is.
The programs include:
The Deep Mind Transformation Method (4 weeks) A structured four-module course covering burnout and the therapist's role, psychodynamic foundations, attachment theory and neuroscience, and process-oriented therapy skills. Each module includes recorded content, live group sessions, and practical application. Hours are claimable as structured general CPD.
The Deep Mind Mastery Journey (8 weeks) Advanced training in psychodynamic and relational work, covering countertransference as clinical data, nonverbal communication, resistance, and the art of interpretation and relational presence. Designed for psychologists who have a foundation and want to develop genuine clinical depth. Hours are claimable as structured general CPD.
The Free Webinar The Deep Mind Transformation Method Webinar — a free, live one-hour introduction to psychodynamic principles and Socratic questioning — is a useful starting point and can be logged as general CPD activity.
If you're unsure how to log your hours or build these programs into your learning plan, the PsyBA's CPD guidelines are the authoritative reference. The key question is always whether the activity contributes to your competency goals — and for psychodynamic and relational training, the answer for most practising psychologists is straightforwardly yes.
Why CPD in Psychodynamic and Relational Approaches Is Particularly Valuable
There are many ways to complete 30 CPD hours. The question worth asking is: which CPD will actually make a difference to your clinical work in the next twelve months?
For psychologists trained primarily in structured, protocol-based approaches, the area with the most growth potential — and the most direct impact on day-to-day clinical experience — is typically the relational dimension of practice. How you manage countertransference. How you work with resistance without becoming adversarial. How you hold complexity with clients who don't fit the protocol.
These are the areas where psychologists most commonly report feeling undersupported by their training. They're also the areas most associated with burnout — the slow erosion of clinical confidence and meaning that comes from working without an adequate framework for what's actually happening in the room. If burnout is part of what's driving your interest in CPD, there's more on that on the psychologist burnout page.
Psychodynamic and relational training addresses these gaps directly. It's not theory for its own sake — it's a practical framework for the parts of clinical work that structured training doesn't fully equip you for. And the evidence base for this approach is substantial, which you can read more about on the relational therapy evidence base page.
Who This CPD Is For
Deep Mind programs are designed specifically for practising psychologists — not students, not allied health professionals broadly, but registered psychologists who are already in clinical work and want to deepen it.
The programs are particularly suited to psychologists who:
- Work primarily in CBT or structured approaches and feel a growing limitation with complex presentations
- Are experiencing burnout or a loss of clinical meaning and want to understand why — and what to do about it
- Have an interest in psychodynamic, relational, or attachment-based approaches but haven't had structured training in them
- Want CPD that changes how they practise, not just hours on a log sheet
- Are looking for connection with a community of peers who take the depth of clinical work seriously
The Deep Mind Suitability Quiz takes about ten minutes and gives you a clear sense of whether the programs are the right fit for where you are right now. You can take it here.
A Note on CPD Quality
The PsyBA doesn't simply require hours — it requires CPD that contributes to your competency as a practising psychologist. The standard explicitly anticipates that psychologists will exercise professional judgement about what's relevant to their development.
That means the most valuable CPD is not necessarily the most expensive or the most credentialled. It's the training that closes a genuine gap in your skills or framework, that you will actually apply in the room with clients, and that makes you a more effective and sustainable practitioner.
After 34 years in clinical practice and training, the most consistent thing I hear from psychologists coming through Deep Mind programs is that they wish they'd found this kind of training earlier in their careers. Not because the content is difficult or arcane — because it addresses something real about their clinical experience that nothing else had quite named.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Deep Mind programs count as CPD for registered psychologists in Australia? Yes. Deep Mind programs are APS CPD approved. The 4-week Transformation Method carries 11 APS CPD hours, the 8-week Mastery Journey carries 20 APS CPD hours, and the free webinar carries 1 APS CPD hour. All hours are claimable toward your annual PsyBA requirement.
How many CPD hours can I claim? You can claim the actual contact and structured learning hours involved. For the Transformation Method (4 weeks) and Mastery Journey (8 weeks), this includes recorded content, live group sessions, and structured practice time. Keep your own record of hours and activities as you would for any CPD.
Do I need to develop a learning plan that includes this training? The PsyBA requires a written learning plan based on self-assessment of your development needs. If developing psychodynamic and relational skills is a genuine goal for you — which for many psychologists it clearly is — including Deep Mind programs in that plan is entirely appropriate and straightforward.
Can I do this CPD online? Yes. All Deep Mind programs are delivered online via live Zoom sessions and recorded content, making them accessible to psychologists anywhere in Australia. This is one of the practical advantages — there's no need to travel to a capital city for a workshop.
What if I'm not sure whether psychodynamic training is the right CPD for me right now? The Deep Mind Suitability Quiz is a ten-minute self-assessment designed to help you work that out. It's honest about fit — if the programs aren't the right match for your current stage, it will say so.
What Psychologists Say About Deep Mind Programs
"I enjoyed this course. It was one of the most engaging and thought provoking courses I have ever completed. I have gained more out of this course, than previous trainings I have attended. It's 5 stars from me." — Edwina P., NSW
"I found the modules on projective identification the most helpful as it was highly relevant to my clinical work and made the biggest difference for me in being able to slow down internally... I felt very supported. The calls were excellent exposure for me to sit with my own projections and fears about sharing in a group setting." — Aimee M., QLD
"I feel that Tania always provided psychological safety and containment, no judgement or pressure if unable to attend live calls etc. Always operating with the stance of curiosity and openness to whatever emerged in the process. I feel she modelled the process aspects of group exceptionally well." — Courtney B., QLD
"The course allowed me to experience the richness of 'in vivo' relational formulations. I've also become much more comfortable having difficult conversations with clients which have led to transformative shifts." — Helena S., VIC
"Coming into the 8 week Deep Mind advanced course, I was hoping to remove the stress and burnout as a result of the 'fixer' mindset I had absorbed since completing my Masters Degree. During the course, the combination of learning what I bring into the room with clients vs what the client brings, has been pivotal in teaching me how to contain dysregulation in the room, remain calm and present and be authentic. These small but powerful shifts reduced anxiety and the 'fixer' label within me which has increased my capacity for enjoyment and satisfaction in my role which I didn't think was possible again." — Candice B., QLD
"I really noticed a measurable improvement in energy levels and more confidence in 'just being myself and that being good enough' this week. I feel my sessions are flowing better as a result." — Stephanie H., NSW
"I have been thinking for some time to write to you and express my gratitude for what your course has done for me. I am truly in a much better headspace since starting and applying the teachings to my practice. I have much more energy for myself, my family, and my work since focusing more on the process dimension and work in the present moment! I hope to revise the entire course when I have the chance to really let it sink in. Thank you!" — Behram B., QLD
Ready to Work Differently?
The annual CPD requirement is an opportunity, not just an obligation. Thirty hours is enough time to genuinely shift something in how you practise — if you choose training that addresses a real gap rather than just filling a log.
If psychodynamic and relational depth is that gap for you, Deep Mind is where to start.
Or join the free webinar first — The Masterful Art of Socratic Questioning — a live, practical one-hour introduction at no cost.
Tania Kalkidis is a registered clinical psychologist (AHPRA PSY0000976980), member of the Australian Psychological Society and Australian Association of Psychologists Inc, and founder of Deep Mind Psychodynamic Training.
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